Rajoelina Madagascar pres., legitimacy questioned; US Fed. puts over $1 trillion in credit-stimulus; 1.2 million march to support French strike…
Related subjects: Africa, East Africa, Economic Recovery, Health Science, Humanitarian Crisis, Mortgage & Credit Crisis, Press Freedom, Rights & Freedoms, The Global Intercept Comments (1)
Andry Rajoelina, legally 6 years too young, assumes Madagascar presidency, after Marc Ravalomanana is forced to step down. Ravalomanana had vowed to fight to keep his office and had proposed a referendum to let the people decide, but military forces stormed the presidential palace and the president resigned and fled.
From Johannesburg, Xinhua reports:
The main decision-making committee of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) on Thursday urged the African Union and the international community not to recognize Andry Rajoelina as Madagascar’s president and called for a return to “democratic and constitutional rule in the shortest time possible.”
US Federal Reserve issues trillion-dollar credit-stimulus plan, buying back $300 billion in Treasury bonds and putting up $750 billion to back mortgage-linked securities that may not be sustainable banking assets (“toxic debt”). The plan is aimed at enabling banks to start lending more broadly, while preventing home foreclosures and bank failures.
Police estimate upwards of 1.2 million rallied in national strike demanding French government do more to support workers hit by hard economic times. One in three French citizens is said to support the strike, the highest percentage in 10 years. Mounting job losses and stagnant wages were among the chief complaints. Oil giant Total has sparked widespread anger by announcing layoffs even after reporting record profits last year.
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The Guardian newspaper reports:
Teachers and doctors protested against his long-standing reform plan, saying public-sector job cuts would kill schools and hospitals. University staff are continuing their seven-week strike against higher education reform with sit-ins and occupations.
Private-sector employees, including supermarket cashiers, bank clerks and car workers, took to the street over poor pay, factory closures and the return of a traditional French scourge: unemployment, now rising at its fastest rate in 10 years.
Pope Benedict sparked international anger by telling an african audience that condoms will not help to prevent or reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS but will only make the problem worse. He is accused of putting ideology (abstinence-only) before human life and public health, as statistics show condom use does reduce the disease’s spread. EU and African governments have called on the Pope to reconsider his stance.
Two US journalists have reportedly been detained by North Korean border guards. The two Korean American women from California were reportedly filming across the border from China; when they refused to stop filming, it is alleged the border guards crossed into Chinese territory and detained them.
Scientists may have discovered protein linked to incidence of epileptic symptoms in patients suffering from Alzheimer’s disease. According to PhysOrg:
An international team involving scientists at the University of Aberdeen has revealed that a protein in the brain – which accumulates in clumps in an Alzheimer’s brain – is making nerve cells too sensitive.
Overly sensitive nerve cells lose their ability to communicate coherently with other nerve cells. This then makes the brain susceptible to seizures, say researchers who today report their findings in the Journal of Neuroscience.
The discovery could lead to treatments that aid in the slowing of neuron deterioration and potentially in treatment of other Alzheimer’s symptoms as well.
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